Alexandru Athanasiu (; born 1 January 1955) is a Romanian politician and jurist. A former leader of the Romanian Social Democratic Party (PSDR), he has been a member of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

(PSD) since 2001. Athanasiu previously served as

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

on an ad interim basis for 9 days between 13 December and 22 December 1999, heading the Romanian Democratic Convention (CDR) cabinet after the resignation of Radu Vasile ( PNȚCD. On 1 January 2007, with the

accession of Romania to the European Union On 1 January 2007, Bulgaria and Romania became member states of the European Union (EU) in the fifth wave of EU enlargement. Negotiations Romania was the first country of post-communist Europe to have official relations with the European Comm ...

, Athanasiu became a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

for the PSD (inside the Party of European Socialists). An author of several scientific works, he is the recipient of a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...

in Law, as well as a professor at the University of Bucharest (since 1999). In 1995, his volume ''Legea Asigurărilor Sociale'' ("The Law on

Social Security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

") received the Romanian Academy's '' Simion Bărnuțiu Award''.

Biography

Born in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...

, Athanasiu studied at the Gheorghe Lazăr High School in Bucharest, and later graduated from the law school at the Bucharest University. Between 1978 and 1982, he was employed by the Bucharest Court of Appeal. Having joined the newly created PSDR after the

Romanian Revolution of 1989 The Romanian Revolution ( ro, Revoluția Română), also known as the Christmas Revolution ( ro, Revoluția de Crăciun), was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred ...

, Athanasiu was first elected to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

as a

deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

in 1992, being nominated to the Committee for Labor and Social Protection. A Minister of Labor in the Victor Ciorbea CDR cabinet, he retained the office under Radu Vasile and his own premiership, being replaced by

Smaranda Dobrescu Smaranda is a Romanian female given name that may refer to: * Smaranda Brăescu Smaranda Brăescu (21 May 1897 – 2 February 1948) was a Romanian parachuting and aviation pioneer, former multiple world record holder. Her achievements earned her ...

during the leadership of

Mugur Isărescu Constantin Mugur Isărescu (; born 1 August 1949) is the Governor of the National Bank of Romania, a position he has been holding since September 1990, with the sole exception of a period of time of eleven months (16 November 1999 to 28 October 2 ...

. In 1999, he replaced

Sergiu Cunescu Sergiu Cunescu (March 16, 1923—March 16, 2005) was a Romanian social democratic politician, the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Romania (PSDR) between 1990 and 2001. Biography Born in Bucharest, he graduated from the Electromagn ...

at the head of the PSDR, leading it into fusion with Adrian Năstase's Party of Social Democracy, PDSR (the fusion led to the creation of the PSD). In 2000, he was elected to the Romanian Senate on PSDR lists, representing Bihor County (re-elected in 2004 on PSD lists); he stood on the Committee for Foreign Policies. In 2003–2004, Athanasiu also served as Minister of Education in the Adrian Năstase executive (replacing Ecaterina Andronescu). Athanasiu is married with two children.

References

Biography at the Romanian Senate

Biography at the Romanian Chamber of Deputies

External links

European Parliament profileEuropean Parliament official photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Athanasiu, Alexandru 1955 births Living people Romanian Social Democratic Party (1990–2001) politicians Social Democratic Party (Romania) politicians Politicians from Bucharest Prime Ministers of Romania Romanian Ministers of Education Romanian jurists Members of the Senate of Romania University of Bucharest alumni University of Bucharest faculty Gheorghe Lazăr National College (Bucharest) alumni Social Democratic Party (Romania) MEPs MEPs for Romania 2007